Justin Appel

Dear Friends in Christ,

This coming Sunday is the Final Sunday after the Epiphany, or using the Pre-Vatican II Latin title, Quinquagesima Sunday. It’s the final Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and in in 18th-century Germany, this meant it was the final opportunity for music making before the quiet period of Lent. It was for this Sunday that J. S. Bach wrote a special cantata based on the readings for that day: the passage about love from 1 Corinthians 13, and the lesson from Luke 18 about the healing of the blind man. This short cantata is entitled Du wahrer Gott und Davids Sohn (You are the True God and David’s Son).

This work is a lovely meditation for this time of the year, as we are transitioning gradually, rather than abruptly, to the themes of repentance and love outlined in these readings, which are themselves the themes of Lent.

If you have time, it would be worthwhile to listen to this cantata while looking at the text and translation here, even one part of it. The poetry is anonymous, but it treads a delicate balance between the blind man’s voice and the listener’s own voice, and Bach shapes the music to highlight this devotional quality in the text. Frankly, if you follow the text and consider how the music embodies certain meanings and affects (emotions) in the text, you will find an endless source for contemplation. I am constantly amazed at the seemingly limitless meaning to be found in Bach’s cantatas.

A marvelous performance of the work can be found here.

Text and translation can be found here.

Yours in Christ,
Justin